Myanmar reforms hitting 'bumpy patch'
Myanmar's reform process has hit a "bumpy patch", opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said, as she warned against complacency.
She spoke at a press conference with US President Barack Obama following their meeting at her Yangon home.
Obama said the US remained "clear-eyed" about reforms, which were "by no means complete".
The US president was in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday for the East Asia Summit where he met President Thein Sein.
Suu Kyi told reporters that while the US and Myanmar - also known as Burma - believed in the same values and principles, "we might sometimes think there may be different ways to get to the goals we want to achieve".
"I always warn against over-optimism, because that could lead to complacency. Our reform process is going through a bumpy patch, but this bumpy patch is something we can negotiate with commitment, with help and understanding from our friends around the world."
"What we need is a healthy balance of optimism and pessimism," said Suu Kyi.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, moved from military to civilian rule in 2010 and is currently governed by a military-backed civilian administration led by Thein Sein.
Obama said that the process of reform was "by no means complete or irreversible" and added that the US "recognises the challenges ahead and cannot be complacent".
He said he and Suu Kyi had discussed ways of bolstering Myanmar's transition.
He also stressed that solutions had to be found in Rakhine state, where tens of thousands of people from the minority Muslim Rohingya group have been displaced by anti-Muslim violence.
Since 2010, Myanmar's government has released many political prisoners, eased media restrictions and released Suu Kyi from years of house arrest.
But critics have warned that reforms have stalled, as all eyes turn to 2015 when the next general election will be held.
'Healthy balance'
"I always warn against over-optimism, because that could lead to complacency," Suu Kyi said.
"Our reform process is going through a bumpy patch, but this bumpy patch is something we can negotiate with commitment, with help and understanding from our friends around the world."
"What we need is a healthy balance of optimism and pessimism," she said.
Obama said that the process of reform was "by no means complete or irreversible" and added that the US "recognises the challenges ahead and cannot be complacent".
He also referred to a constitutional clause which bars anyone whose spouse or children are foreign citizens from becoming president. Suu Kyi's two sons are British citizens, meaning she cannot take power.
"I don't understand a provision that would bar someone from running for president because of who their children are. That doesn't make much sense to me," he said.
Suu Kyi added that the Burmese support the opposition's call to amend this clause, "but I don't think it's because they want me to be president, but because they recognise it's unfair, unjust and undemocratic".
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in the by-elections in 2012. It did not contest the November 2010 general election because of laws it said were unfair.
Obama said he and Ms Suu Kyi had discussed ways of bolstering Myanmar's transition.
He also stressed that solutions had to be found in Rakhine state, where tens of thousands of people from the minority Muslim Rohingya group have been displaced by anti-Muslim violence.
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